Combined wheelchair, tray and foot rest

ABSTRACT

A combined wheelchair, tray and foot rest assembly having a mechanism for permitting the tray and foot rest to be moved horizontally and preventing the accidental removal from the wheelchair. Further, the mechanism permitting the tray to be swung from a position of use to a stored position adjacent the side of the wheelchair.

United States Patent Hartman Jan. 14, 1975 1 1 COMBINED WHEELCHAIR, TRAYAND 2,277,703 3/1942 Kennedy et a1 403/112 x O REST 2,907,598 10/1959Hart 403/112 3,123,397 3/1964 Murcott 297/150 [75] In ento D it HArchbold, 3,235,296 2/1966 Day 403/112 Ohio 3,575,466 4/1971 Thomas 1297/150 [73] Assignee: Gendron Diemer, Inc. Archbold 3,612,668 10/1971Watkins 403/112 X Oh 10 Primary ExaminerJames T. McCall Flledi J 1973Attorney, Agent, or Firm-David H. Wilson [21] Appl. N0.: 327,853

[57] ABSTRACT Cl 4, 403/112 A combined wheelchair, tray and foot restassembly Clt having a mechanism for the tray and foot 1 Fleld 0f Search1 rest to be moved horizontally and preventing the acci- 297/149, 161,162; 248/298, 285, 287, dental removal from the wheelchair. Further, the

188.5, 333, 334, 335, 338; 403/112 mechanism permitting the tray to beswung from a position of use to a stored position adjacent the side of[56] References Cited h h l h i UNITED STATES PATENTS Tanzer 403111) 2Claims, 4 Drawing Figures COMBINED WHEELCHAIR, TRAY AND FOOT RESTBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Attempts have been made in the prior art toproduce a wheelchair for use by invalids or convalescents wherein trayand foot rest components were provided which could be moved forhorizontal adjustment to accommodate various sized individuals. Further,efforts have been expended to achieve a tray structure for suchwheelchairs which could be readily swung from a position of use to aposition of non-use adjacent one side of the chair. However, allprevious attempts have resulted in a wheelchair wherein the movable andstorable elements could be removed from the chair and thereby create thepossibility of the elements being destroyed or misplaced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to produce awheelchair structure having integral tray and foot rest elements whichare, in part, coupled to the chair mechanism allowing the tray and footrest to be moved horizontally relative to the main body of the chair,and also providing for swinging action of the tray from a position ofuse to a position of non-use while militating against the completedisassociation of the tray and foot rest elements from the chair.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects and advantages of theinvention will be more fully understood by one skilled in the art byreading the following detailed description of an embodiment of theinvention when considered in the light of the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a wheelchair incorporating thefeatures of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the wheelchair illustrated in FIG.1 showing the tray in a stored position along a side of the wheelchair;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the mechanism for providingrelative movement between the chair frame and associated tray takenalong line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of the apparatus employed forselectively horizontally positioning the tray relative to thewheelchair.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, thereis illustrated a wheelchair structure basically comprised of twosubstantially similar side frames and 10'. Since the side frames aresubstantially the same, the description of only a single side frame 10is deemed necessary. Slight differences between the side frames 10 and10' will be explained hereinafter.

FIG. 1 adequately illustrates side frame 10 which consists of generallyvertically extending leg portions 12 and 14. The leg portion 12 isformed to have an offset forwarding extending handgrip portion 16 fromwhich an armrest portion 18 is formed to extend generally horizontallyrearwardly therefrom. The armrest portion 18 is provided with a suitablearmrest member 20 which is formed of a molded plastic, for example, andsecured thereto by suitable fasteners such as screws 22.

The leg portion 14 is formed to have a relatively short foot restportion 24 at the lower end thereof from which extends an inwardly andupwardly extending and thence rearwardly inclined seat and backrestsupporting portion 26.

The rearmost ends of the armrest portions 18 and 18' are suitablysecured, as bywelding, to seat and backrest portions 26 and 26 as at 28.

A frame tube 30 extends between the upper portion of the leg portion 12and the seat and backrest supporting portion 26 and is typically weldedto these elements.

The above described elements form the side frames and are of steeltubing and in practice are provided with a suitable nickel chromeplating on the exposed surfaces thereof. It has been found in practicethat one inch diameter tubing is satisfactory to lend sufficientstructural strength to the assembly.

The two side frames 10 and 10' are coupled together by a generallyU-shaped pusher tube 32 having lower free ends formed to extend inwardlyand thence downwardly to be received within the upper open ends of theseat and backrest supporting portions 26 and 26.

A cushioned and upholstered seat 34 extends between the two side frames10 and 10', the front end of which is secured to the leg portions 12 and12, and the rear end of which is secured to the lower portion of theseat and backrest portions 26 and 26. Typically the seat 34 is securedto the side frames 10 and 10 by threaded fasteners such as screws, forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

A cushioned and upholstered backrest 36 extends between the side frames10 and 10' and .is secured to the upper portion of the seat and backrestsupporting portions 26 and 26' to suitable threaded fasteners, such asscrews, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

At the bottom of the leg portions 12, 12' and l4, 14' (not shown) of theside frames 10 and'l0' respectively, there are disposed floor engagingwheel means. The front or forward leg portions 12 and 12 are preferrablyprovided with non-swiveling wheel units 38 and 38', while the rear legportions 14 and 14 are provided with swivel casters 40 and 40' (notshown). Typically the rear swivel casters 40 and 40' are equipped withsuitable braking means to adequately militate against movement of thewheel chair assembly when desired.

A generally rectangularly shaped tray 42 of suitable width to adequatelyspan the side frames 10 and 10' is provided to be attached to the chairassembly. The tray 42 is adapted to rest on the armrest members 20 and20 which are affixed to the armrest portions 18 and 18' of the sideframes 10 and 10'. It will be noted that the tray 42 is illustrated in aposition of use in FIG. 1 and in a stored position in FIG. 2, withphantom lines in each of the figures illustrating the alternateposition. Pivotally affixed to the underside of the tray 42 is generallyUshaped tray supporting member 44 having two spaced apart parallellyarranged legs 46 and 48. The leg 46 of tray supporting member 44 ispivotally coupled to the underside of the tray 42 by a pair of spacedapart brackets 50.

The spaced apart leg 48 of the tray supporting member 44, is adapted tobe received within the hollow inte rior of the frame tube 30. It will benoted that the leg 48 is longer than the leg 46 and the free endthereof, as is clearly apparent in FIG. 3, is provided with a standardwasher 52 brazed or otherwise suitably secured to the inner surfacethereof.

The rear end of the frame tube 30 is provided with an aperture 54 whichis adapted to receive an end portion 56 of a rod 58. The end portion 56is typically provided with exterior threads and is formed at asubstantially right angle to the main body of the rod 58. The threadedend portion 56 of the rod 58 is securely fastened within the aperture 54of the frame tube 30 by a pair of cooperating nuts 60 and 62. Theopposite end 64 of the rod 58 is bent to form a substantially rightangle extension to the main body of rod 58 so that in the assembled formthe leg 48 of the tray supporting member 44 cannot become disassembledfrom the frame tube 30. The otherwise open end of the frame tube 30 iscovered by a tube closure member 66.

A bracket 68 is secured to the undersurface of the tray 42 adjacent theside opposite the side which the brackets 50 are secured. The bracket 68is provided with a spring biased plunger 70 which is adapted to beselectively received in a series of holes 72 formed in the armrestmember 20', as is clearly illustrated in FIG. 4. The relative horizontalposition of the tray 42 with respect to the chair may be determined bythe particular one of the holes 72 selected to allow the plunger 70 toengage. Accordingly, the tray 42 may be readily moved to any desiredposition with respect to the particular occupant of the chair forcomfortable use of the tray, and further, to provide a suitablerestraint for the occupant against accidental movement during use.

The tray 42 may be moved from the position of use illustrated clearly inFIG. 1 to a stored position illustrated in FIG. 2 by disengaging theplunger 70 from the aligned hole 72 of armrest member 20 and thenswinging the tray 42 to the stored position and suitably locking thetray in the stored position by aligning the plunger 70 with a hole in abracket 73 secured to the armrest portion 18 of the side frame 10.During the swinging movement of the tray 42, the leg 48 of thesupporting member 44 rotates within the interior of the frame tube 30.It will also be appreciated that relative longitudinal movement betweenthe leg 48 and the associated frame tube 30 may be effected to permitalignment between the plunger 70 and the locking bracket 73 to assurethat the tray 42, is retained in a locked stored position. The abovedescribed operation can be readily performed by the occupant of thechair or an attendant.

Secured to the lower portions of the side frames and 10' extendingbetween the front leg portions 12 and 12' and the foot portions 24 arelower frame tubes 74 and 74' respectively. The lower frame tubes 74 and74 are adapted to telescopically supportingly receive the free ends oftubular members 76 of a foot rest as sembly. The foot rest assemblyincludes a foot rest 78 which is typically pivotally supported betweenthe spaced apart tubular members 76. It will be understood that the footrest 78 may be horizontally adjusted by sliding the assembly forwardlyor rearwardly to accommodate the occupant of the chair. Mechanismsimilar to that illustrated in FIG. 3 may be utilized to preventaccidental removal of the foot rest assembly from the chair.

A clip 80 is secured to the frame tube 74 and is employed to retain theleg 46 of tray supporting member 44 during periods of nonuse of the tray42 and transit of the chair 10. It will be appreciated, that when thetray 42 is held by the clip 80, the tray 42 will not pivot or move inanyway that might cause accidental harm to the fingers of the occupantshould the chair be abruptly jolted.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I haveexplained the principle and mode of operation of my invention and haveillustrated and described what I now consider to represent its bestembodiment. However, it must be understood that within the spirit andscope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwisethan as specifically illustrated and described.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a chair structure comprising a pair of similartubular side frames joined by seat and backrest members each of saidframes including front and rear leg portions and an armrest; a tubularframe member affixed to the outside of one of said frames; a tray; agenerally U-shaped supporting member for said tray, said supportingmember having two spaced apart substantially parallel legs, one of saidlegs being pivotally secured to the undersurface of said tray, the otherof said legs being hollow and telescopingly received by said tubularframe member, said legs being spaced apart a distance substantially thesame as the distance between said tubular frame member and the uppersurface of the armrest on the one of said frames to which said tubularmember is attached; and bracket means for selectively fastening theundersurface of the opposite edge of said tray in the position of use tothe armrest of the other of said frames and in the stored position tothe armrest portion of the one of said frames to which said tubularmember is attached, the improvement which comprises:

means interconnecting said tubular member and the other of said legs topermit relative rotational movement therebetween and limited relativelongitudinal movement and prevent disassociation therebetween tomilitate against the removal of said tray from the chair including a rodhaving one end affixed to said tubular frame member, said other leghaving a reduced opening in the end thereof, the other end of said rodfitted through the opening in said leg, and stop means on said other endof said rod providing a limit to the relative longitudinal movementbetween said tubular frame member and said other leg.

2. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein said other end of said rodis bent to form a substantially right angle extension to the main bodyportion of said rod for said stop means.

1. In combination with a chair structure comprising a pair of similartubular side frames joined by seat and backrest members each of saidframes including front and rear leg portions and an armrest; a tubularframe member affixed to the outside of one of said frames; a tray; agenerally U-shaped supporting member for said tray, said supportingmember having two spaced apart substantially parallel legs, one of saidlegs being pivotally secured to the undersurface of said trAy, the otherof said legs being hollow and telescopingly received by said tubularframe member, said legs being spaced apart a distance substantially thesame as the distance between said tubular frame member and the uppersurface of the armrest on the one of said frames to which said tubularmember is attached; and bracket means for selectively fastening theundersurface of the opposite edge of said tray in the position of use tothe armrest of the other of said frames and in the stored position tothe armrest portion of the one of said frames to which said tubularmember is attached, the improvement which comprises: meansinterconnecting said tubular member and the other of said legs to permitrelative rotational movement therebetween and limited relativelongitudinal movement and prevent disassociation therebetween tomilitate against the removal of said tray from the chair including a rodhaving one end affixed to said tubular frame member, said other leghaving a reduced opening in the end thereof, the other end of said rodfitted through the opening in said leg, and stop means on said other endof said rod providing a limit to the relative longitudinal movementbetween said tubular frame member and said other leg.
 2. The inventiondefined in claim 1 wherein said other end of said rod is bent to form asubstantially right angle extension to the main body portion of said rodfor said stop means.